DA Revelations Episode 17: Guilt
by AngelExposed
Summary: After discovering the truth about Jessie, Rogue is left with questions and concerns while she becomes Jessie's babysitter while they stay on Muir Island.
1. Chapter 1: Who is She?

DA Revelations

Episode 17 - Guilt

Chapter One – Who is She?

"I don't believe this is happening – how could something _this_ huge have just gone by without someone thinking _once_ to tell me..."

Rogue waited for Kitty's response to her question on the phone, but on the other end it was silent for several moments.

"He has a _daughter._ And no one thought _once_ of telling me. Meanwhile I find out you and Jean, the Professor _and _Hank all fucking _knew _about it?!"

"It's complicated," was Kitty's response after a moment of contemplation; she sounded tired. It was early in Bayville, although it was already mid-morning in Scotland.

Rogue frowned, "complicated?! How complicated could it be if _half_ the mansion gets to know while I'm left in the dark and I'm the one dating the so-called _father._"

"It's complicated because of the situation, Rogue. None of us know how Jessie even _exists._ I'm sure even you must have thought to do the math?"

"Jessie is seven...Remy was dating me around the time she would have been conceived," Rogue leaned against the wall, curling the wire of the payphone around her fingers. "So did he cheat?"

"No. He maintains he didn't...and you know Remy...he'd have said eventually if he had."

"So how is it this seven year old girl is _here_ when Remy didn't cheat."

"We're trying to figure that out too, Rogue."

"Is she Gabrielle?" Rogue asked.

"No...Jessie was born _after_ Gabrielle..."

"So...who is she then?"

"We've been trying to work that out for seven months...and nothing has really become any clearer..."

"Seven months," Rogue shook her head, "god...seven months this has been going on...and right under my nose..."

"I'm sorry," Kitty said. "I wanted to tell you but...I was afraid you just...wouldn't understand. We all were scared you'd flip. Remy was gone for such a long time we didn't think it'd make any difference whether you knew or not, and when he came back...we were so afraid that it'd raise so many questions...eventually that it'd break you up...we couldn't do that to you."

Rogue stared through the glass door into the kitchen of the research centre; Jessie was sitting at the table eating French Toast. At her side, Sean Cassidy was drinking hot coffee, looking thoroughly exhausted. She sighed to herself. "Does _Jessie_ know?"

"No...and we don't think it'd be wise to ever tell her. She'd _never_ understand, Rogue. I mean...how could you explain to a seven year old that her mom and dad weren't her real mom and dad and this total stranger she met just incidentally is actually your _real_ father. She's messed up enough..."

"Remy has known all this time too?"

"No," Kitty answered quickly, "he's known only for about a month...and he's been struggling with it..."

"I can't believe he never told me..."

"He wanted to...but...he didn't want to scare you off – especially since he couldn't even explain how she exists..."

Struggling to come to grips with everything she'd only learned in the last hour, she stood silent for several minutes trying to think clearly. Finally, she spoke. "I don't know how to handle this, Kitty. I mean...what do I _do now_?"

Kitty's voice was dry on the other end of the line, "you don't need to _do_ anything. Things were fine before you knew and they'll be fine now. If anything they'll be _easier_ now that there's no more secrets."

"I'm not so sure," Rogue said, "knowing something like this makes everything so...so different."

"Why? What has it really changed?"

"I don't know...everything," Rogue rubbed the back of her neck, it felt sore from sleeping awkwardly in the bed beside Jessie. "Everything is different...I can't explain it."

"You're being ridiculous."

"You're supposed to be my best friend and you've been keeping secrets from me for seven months about a daughter the man I love has and you're saying _I'm ridiculous_?" Rogue demanded. "I'm _furious._"

"I know. I'm sorry. Listen, I gotta go...Caleb's just spewed all over me and it's gross."

"Fine," Rogue sighed, "bye."

As she slammed the phone down she realised that it was unfair to be so mad with Kitty – it probably hadn't been Kitty's idea to keep the whole thing a secret in the first place. Kitty hadn't been the only one keeping secrets...the Professor, Jean, and Hank had too.

_Remy knew for a month...now I understand why he was so upset over Christmas and New Years. _


	2. Chapter 2: Fresh Milk

Chapter Two – Fresh Milk

Jessie sighed as she stared down into her glass of milk; she no longer wanted to drink it but she was too scared to tell the man sitting next to her. Sean Cassidy, a large man with hair she felt nearly burgeoned on orange; his eyes were green and friendly, but he had a strange accent she could just barely make out.

"Don't you like milk?" Mr. Cassidy asked of Jessie, he leaned back casually in his chair and stared at her.

Jessie glanced up at him, "it tastes a little strange," she confessed.

"That's because it's fresh," Mr. Cassidy admitted.  
"Fresh?" Jessie raised an eyebrow.

"From a cow. The weather's been too bad to get to the shops for groceries – but there's a farm down the road has cows."

"I've never seen a real cow before," Jessie confessed.

"Maybe I'll take you to see them – if the weather improves," he said thoughtfully, he drained his cup of the last of his coffee. "So...you sneaked on to the jet to come see Gambit, eh?"

Jessie had to listen closely for a minute to make out what he said, "yeah..."

"You're a little firecracker, aren't you?" Mr. Cassidy said cheerfully, he laughed.

Although she wasn't sure exactly what he meant by this, she liked the word, and she could tell by the way he laughed so lightly that it could only mean something good. "Maybe," she said. "Why do you talk so funny?"

"I'm from Ireland," he folded his arms comfortably over his broad chest.

"Where's Ireland?" Jessie asked, staring at him; he looked so tired and she wondered why he just didn't go for a nap so she could go exploring the place on her own. She wanted to go see Mr. LeBeau only no one would let her regardless of how many times she'd asked.

"It's sort of...off the west coast of the United Kingdom...ask your teachers at school to show you on a map and you'll see..." Mr. Cassidy explained. "It's where the Leprechauns are from..." he added in a hushed whisper, if this were a big secret she were rather privy to.

"Oh! Like on the Lucky Charms box!" Jessie said, suddenly recognising both the accent and the word Leprechaun.

"Exactly," said Mr. Cassidy with a big grin. "But you...now, where might _you _be from, I wonder."

"Guess," Jessie offered her, although she was sure he never would.

"Well..." said Mr. Cassidy, taking a moment to think, "you have a _little _bit of an accent. Not strong like mine though. Now...lets see...I'd say...you're from...Chicago."

Jessie's eyes widened, "I am."

"Yes, I thought so," he chuckled.

"Do I really have an accent?" Jessie wondered allowed, she tried to listen to herself speak as she spoke each word, but to herself she couldn't detect anything other than the normal sound of her own voice.

"To me, you do," Mr. Cassidy answered, "just like I have an accent to you, but to myself I don't hear it...you see?"

"I think so."

"Did you like it in Chicago?"

"I don't know, really," said Jessie, "I guess not...I stayed in an orphanage."

"It wasn't a nice place?"

"It was stupid. I had to sit away from everyone 'cause of my stupid powers."

"Oh..."

"I live in Bayville now."

"Do you like it there?" he asked.

She didn't have to take much time to consider this. "Yes. It's a nice place to live – and I have my own room."

"Wow, that's really something," said Mr. Cassidy, he seemed impressed. She was sure that something like having one's own room was much more common with adults than it was with young children and she was positive he didn't understand how important it felt to have her own space.

"I didn't have my own room in Chicago...I had to share a room with five other girls..."

"Oh my," said Mr. Cassidy, he nodded sympathetically.

"I hated it there...but I like it in Bayville..."

"You like the people at the institute, huh?"

"Yeah," said Jessie with a firm nod.

"Me too," he admitted. "They're a nice lot, eh?"

"Miss Pryde is nice...and Professor Xavier," she turned the glass of milk around in her hands absently as she spoke, "and Mr. LeBeau."

Mr. Cassidy leaned forward, placing his folded arms upon the table, "you really like him, huh?"

Jessie gave a silent nod, she stared into her milk again.

"He must mean a lot to you – you came all this way to see him. Do you know how many miles you've travelled?"

"Nope," Jessie admitted. "Alot?"

"Well...it's over three thousand...just to come see your Mr. LeBeau..."

"Was it really that far?" Jessie was surprised to hear this news. "Three thousand? That's really a big lot."

"Yes, it is," said Mr. Cassidy, he smiled and his green eyes seemed to dance and light up his whole face.

"When can I see Mr. LeBeau?"

"You can't right now, darlin'," he shook his head slowly, "he's really very not well right now," he added in a very grave and gentle tone.

"Why can't I see him though?" Jessie asked, "I won't wake him or anything..."

"He's very ill right now...he can't be around people."

"But Rogue and Dr. McCoy saw him," she pointed out stubbornly.

"That's different," said Mr. Cassidy with a tender smile, "you'll see him when he goes back to Bayville."

"But that could be _forever_ away."

"You have a flair for the dramatics, don't you?" he laughed softly. "I'm sorry, you can't see him right now.

Jessie pouted; she didn't like being told she couldn't see him, and she wasn't sure why it was so important that she _not_ see him. Surely he couldn't be that ill? Especially now that he was supposed to be healing and no longer anywhere near dying.

_I've got to see him,_ Jessie thought. She didn't trust all these adults telling her things were fine, and that she shouldn't worry. How could she not? How could she be sure about something they couldn't prove? "I just want to know he's alright..."

"He's inside a metal chamber...healing...you wouldn't be able to see him anyway, darlin' – not physically...the nearest you'd be able to see him through is the room lookin' into the lab...and all you'd see is the chamber"

Jessie stood up, "I need to see."


	3. Chapter 3: Fearless

Chapter Three - Fearless

Rogue stared through the huge glass windows of the observation room looking into the main lab. The RGT chamber inside was closed securely, and Moira MacTaggart was standing at it's control panel reading from a monitor.

Remy LeBeau was inside that chamber, healing as far as Rogue could tell. On a large plasma screen doubling as a monitor just to her left, she could see an x-ray of Remy's body; she could see the breaks in his bones that had been causing him so much pain, the pieces of his shattered tailbone, the break in his left wrist, the crack in his skull. Rogue watched the monitor, wondering how quickly it would heal; there seemed to be no change as far as she could see.

The door behind her opened and she turned to see Sean Cassidy stepping into the room with Jessie's hand in his, Jessie looked timid, her large grey blue eyes taking in the sight of everything as she entered the room.

"She wanted to see him," Sean said softly, "I told her she won't be able to see much, but...maybe just for her peace of mind," he whispered quietly to Rogue as he approached.

"Yeah..." Rogue nodded, she glanced down at the little girl.

_Remy's daughter, _she thought, and it felt so absurd to be thinking of it. _Remy's little girl...how could I have been so blind...not knowing this whole thing had been going on under my nose?_

"Is he in there?" Jessie asked, she pressed her nose against the glass to look into the lab below, her eyes glued to the chamber.

"Yes," said Sean, "he's inside that chamber...and it'll be a long time before he can come out..."

Rogue glanced at the x-ray on the monitor, "he has so many broken bones..."

"They're healing – very quickly...it's just not very noticable to the naked eye," Sean noted, "inside the chamber the x-rays are taken every ten minutes – you'll see a significant change soon enough."

"How can I trust that?" Rogue asked quietly, folding her arms.

"I don't understand all the jargon they're talkin' about down there anymore than you do, Rogue. What I do know is that Moira is the most determined woman I've ever known – and when she sets her mind to doing something, she does it, five hundred percent. She won't rest until Gambit is back on his feet...trust me."

Rogue hugged herself, she felt a chill run through her despite the oppressive heat in the room.

Jessie turned to look at the x-ray, her eyes were curious, and large, reflecting the image of the bones in bright blue, making her eyes look almost electric. "Is that what broken bones look like?" she asked.

"Yes it is," said Sean. "On the inside, anyway..."

"Will he have them forever?" Jessie worried.

"No," Rogue said, trying to sound reassuring, "his bones will heal and he'll be fine again. Better than he ever was."

Jessie moved into Rogue and slipped her arm around Rogue's thighs, she let her head rest against the woman's hip and stared back into the lab. "He can't feel it, can he?"

"No...he doesn't feel anything. He's asleep..." Rogue gazed down at her. It felt odd, having this child near her, touching her. This child, so aware of what her powers could do and yet so unafraid all the same.

_She's so...fearless. It's as if she has nothing to lose_, Rogue thought, she gently put her hand on the little girl's head.

"How are you holding up?" Sean asked.

"I'm fine," Rogue said, swallowing her emotion back hard as if it were a large lump of raw food.

"You're exhausted."

"We all are," Rogue said, she glanced down and noted Jessie's eyelids drooping, her cheeks flushed with exhaustion.

"You should take a nap. I'll show you to a room if you like," Sean offered graciously.

"No, it's fine. I'll be fine," Rogue assured.

"Haven't you ever heard that old thing about a watched kettle never boiling?" Sean asked with a slight smile.

"So many times," Rogue feigned a smile back. "You're right...it's not doing any good...for either of us?" she stroked Jessie's bangs away from her face, "c'mon, kiddo...lets go watch television or something."

"Okay..." Jessie nodded, she seemed at least momentarily satisfied now that she'd seen seen Remy in some form or another.

Jessie took Rogue's hand and they walked along the halls together, Rogue was silent, her mind still reeling with so many questions.

"Did you see Mr. LeBeau before he went into that machine?" Jessie asked, she was walking slightly ahead of Rogue, practically dragging the woman along with her as much as she could.

Rogue pondered if it was alright to tell Jessie the truth. Logically, she knew it might only scare her, but at the same time, she didn't want to lie to the little girl. "Yes," she finally said.

"Is he really okay?"

"Yes," Rogue nodded, she took a deep breath and sighed slowly, "he...uh...asked...for you."

"Really?" Jessie asked, and she smiled – her two front teeth were growing, two tiny white bumps on her pink gums.

"Yes. He misses you very much," Rogue said; she could see the delight on Jessie's face at the revelation of this news, and she didn't feel guilty for making up the lie as she was sure if Remy hadn't been delirious and out of his head, he probably would have said it himself if he'd had the opportunity to see the little girl.

_His daughter,_ Rogue reminded himself. _She's not _just _any little girl anymore. She's his daughter. God it sounds so fucked up to even think of the word..._

"Is he coming back to Bayville soon?" Jessie skipped a little.

"I'm not sure. He might need more time...but he will be coming back..." Rogue assured. She'd questioned that he might come back several times since he'd left to go for the treatment, and she'd always had to assure herself that he always returned eventually whenever he left. This time, there was no question that he would be back.

_Of course he'll be back,_ Rogue frowned. _He can't leave now...he has a daughter._


	4. Chapter 4: Jessiesitting

Chapter Four – Jessiesitting

Rogue couldn't sleep, although she'd tried; she'd stretched out on the couch in the research centre's staff room with the television on; Jessie had managed to find a channel with cartoons and that was good enough to keep her entertained for a little while.

Rogue lay on the couch watching Jessie; all she could see of Jessie was the long mane of tawny hair, a halo of light from the television lit her up like someone had just drawn a perfect outline of the little girl.

She still couldn't get it out of her mind that the girl was Remy's daughter. She found it hard to even see any likeness of him in the girl – whoever the girl's mother was, she had obviously taken after her instead. She didn't have Remy's eyes, his strong chin, or his thin nose. Rogue would have never spotted any resemblance even before knowing what she knew now.

Jessie sighed, "I've seen this one before..." she gestured to the cartoon on the television. Rogue was unsure of what it was called but it was something that Jessie was obviously familiar with.

_I don't even know anything about her – she's just a stranger to me...just this strange little girl who happens to share DNA with Remy. _

Rogue sat up and sighed, rubbing her head, "try another station."

Jessie got up and walked over, "I'm not supposed to watch more than an hour of television a day. It's the rules, remember? Professor Xavier says too much television is bad for me and that I should do other things too."

"Oh..." said Rogue. It wasn't a rule she was aware of, but then Professor Xavier, Kitty and Jean had been taking care of Jessie ever since she'd set foot in the institute; Rogue had barely made contact with the girl since she'd arrived.

_Should I be feeling guilty about that?_ Rogue wondered as she moved her hair back from her face and stared at Jessie; Jessie had picked up a television magazine and was looking through it although Rogue was almost positive the girl wouldn't read.

It struck her that if she hadn't known Jessie was Remy's daughter, she probably would have gone the rest of her life without ever feeling guilty over not making the effort. Now...all she had to wonder was if she would be expected to be involved with Jessie.

_I can't be involved with her...what if I accidentally hurt her...or absorb her power? _

"Well...what would you be doing around now?" Rogue asked, she glanced at the clock on the wall, it was midday on a Saturday.

"I dunno," Jessie confessed, "playing with my toys maybe...except I didn't bring any."

"I guess you travel light, huh?" Rogue mused, she rubbed her head, a headache had begun to dully throb right above her eyes.

"You have a sore head?" Jessie asked, perceptively.

"Kind of. I'm just tired...I haven't slept," Rogue pointed out.

"Isn't it bad if you don't sleep?"

"Yes, it is. It makes you ill..."

"Maybe you should go to bed."

"I can't," Rogue sighed, "I need to..." she paused. What _did_ she need to do apart from keep an eye on Jessie? She couldn't stand there forever in the observation room looking at x-rays of Remy's healing bones.

_But I'm _not _ a fit babysitter for Jessie,_ Rogue reminded herself. _I don't know what she eats, what she's supposed to be doing – does she take afternoon naps? God, I didn't even know she's only allowed to watch television for an hour a day...it's not like she comes with a fucking set of instructions like one of those life sized dolls from Toys 'R' Us!_

Rogue chewed the inside of her cheek. "Maybe I should go find someone to take you back to Bayville..." she said softly.

"No!" Jessie said, "I don't want to go back! I want to see Mr. LeBeau when he gets out of the machine..."

"Yes, but...he might be in there for days, Jessie...and...you have school the day after tomorrow...and it's such a long journey..."

"Over three thousand miles," Jessie said, she seemed quite happy to relay this fact.

"Three thousand, three hundred and twenty, actually," Rogue admitted, "But...you have school...and music lessons...and kid stuff...You don't belong in this stupid place..."

"You don't like it here?" Jessie asked, tilting her head to look at Rogue.

Rogue thought about this. "I never have," she finally answered.

"How come?" Jessie climbed up onto the couch, and knelt upon the armrest.

_Too many bad memories,_ Rogue thought dully. But she could never explain that to the girl. She couldn't explain that it was this place Remy had cheated on her with another woman, and she couldn't explain that it was here that Remy had first hurt his back...she couldn't explain it was here that Remy had first proposed to her.

There were just too many things that had happened at this specific place for her to be comfortable here; it was why she'd always avoided visiting...why she'd always hated having to come here on missions in the UK.

"Well look what the cat dragged in."

Rogue and Jessie raised their eyes to the door to see Kurt Wagner standing there, he looked bright eyed and happy to see them both.

"Kurt...hi," Rogue said, she blinked back her exhaustion, her eyes felt dry.

"Hi to you, too. Long time since you've been here," Kurt said as he walked over.

Jessie leapt from the couch onto Kurt, "hi!" she said brightly.

"And you...this must be your _first_ time in the UK, huh?" Kurt caught her and supported her on his hip.

"Yep," Jessie clung onto his neck. "This is where you live?"

"It is," Kurt said with a nod. "Are you glad to see me?" he tickled her.

"Duh," Jessie grinned.

Rogue glanced up at Kurt from where she sat, "she _stowed away_ on the blackbird...in my own bag, no less."

"I always told you guys this one was sharp," Kurt smirked, he tickled Jessie again. "Rogue, you look exhausted."

Rogue gave a shrug but didn't say anything.

"I heard about what happened – it's no wonder you look so frazzled."

"No kidding," Rogue rubbed her head.

"You should get some sleep."

"I can't...I'm babysitting."

"I'm not a baby," Jessie said, frowning at Rogue.

"Okay, lets call it _Jessiesitting,_" Rogue made a face, "Hank is helping Moira in the lab, Sean is training...I don't know the rest of your team well enough to leave her with them..."

"I'll take her," Kurt offered, "me and Jessie can 'port over to Edinburgh – go see a movie...how about that?"

"Really?" Jessie asked, "I can port with you?"

"The weather is bad, though?"

"Not too bad in the city – I've just come back from there; it's snowing, but not so much as here. I could take her to go see the new Shrek movie," Kurt smirked.

"Ooh, I like Shrek!" Jessie said, her attention had moved away from worrying about Remy, and Rogue felt strangely relieved for that moment in time.

"Yes...that would be great...except she doesn't have a jacket...I don't know where her sneakers are..."

"I'll handle it, don't worry," Kurt promised. "Just go up, find a room and get some sleep before you pass out from exhaustion...I've never seen you look so tired."

"Fine."


	5. Chapter 5: Optimistic

Chapter Five - Optimistic

Jessie had only recently grown fond of Kurt Wagner. He was childlike, and fun, he had a sense of humour that reminded her of someone much younger than she thought he really was. It hadn't been until the New Year's party that she'd really grown to feel safe around him.

She couldn't explain it, but she just knew that Mr. Wagner was safe to be around, it was that same feeling like knowing that Rogue would never hurt her, or that Mr. LeBeau cared for her a great deal.

First together, Jessie and Mr. Wagner located her Barbie sneakers upstairs in the guest room under the bed she'd been sleeping on that morning; she watched him as he strapped on and programmed his image inducer and for the first time she saw his fake human form that was surprisingly convincing even for something he called nothing more than a hologram.

"You can still feel my fur," he had admitted to her after showing her his new temporary image for the day before he whisked her up and teleported her off to the city over the water.

They'd appeared outside of the back end of a mall, and they hurried inside to avoid the freezing cold.

"I can't believe you can 'port so far," Jessie said quietly as they rode the elevator together up towards the top floor of the mall where the movie theatre was located.

"When you train your powers, you get better and better," Mr. Wagner explained to her, "But we must not talk of our powers when there are other people nearby, okay?"

"Okay," Jessie nodded.

The movie was entertaining, although every now and then the new wound on her hip would sting and it reminded her of the pain that Mr. LeBeau was probably experiencing in that horrible machine in the lab. What had the adults called it? The _chamber_?

The chamber sounded deadly – and indeed, it must have been if it was what had caused everything to go so badly in the first place; that had been what all the adults had been talking about after all in the hallway. It had been the chamber that had hurt Mr. LeBeau and Jessie was still incredibly confused about how now it would suddenly save his life.

After the movie, they left the theatre hand in hand, and walked along the upper floor that balconied down over the first floor, together they went to look down upon the shoppers below and through the brightly decorated windows of the stores. Jessie saw a store mannequin with chiselled features wearing sunglasses that reminded her of Mr. LeBeau and she stopped to look in the window, prompting Mr. Wagner to stop too.

"What is it?" he asked, confused.

"This looks like Mr. LeBeau...doesn't it?"

Mr. Wagner laughed, "Well...Mr. LeBeau certainly isn't that stone-faced," he chuckled. "Or that well dressed either."

"How come the chamber can save him if it was the thing that made him nearly die?" Jessie asked, glancing up to the man; in his human form his eyes were dark but undeniably blue and she wondered if he _had_ been born a human, if this would be what he would have looked like or was this just his ideal of what he wanted to look like?

"It's very complicated," Mr. Wagner replied, he crouched down to meet her face. "And it's not something you should be worrying herself with..." he took both her hands and squeezed them gently. "You don't need to worry about him – he will be fine, you know."

"Yeah, _everyone_ keeps saying that," Jessie remarked, she became quickly aware of how angry she suddenly sounded. "But _everyone_ kept saying _that _when he first left...and he nearly died. I think everyone is just pretending that they know things will be fine, when they don't have a clue...everyone is just lying."

"We're not lying," Mr. Wagner promised.

"But you are...'cause you don't now that he's going to be fine. All you know is what everyone else told you...I can tell."

"How?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know...I just _can," _Jessie replied to him. She wished she understood exactly how she could tell he was lying about knowing things would be fine. "You're...lying."

"I'm not lying, I'm being...optimistic..."

"What does _that_ mean?"

Mr. Wagner raised an eyebrow, and she could tell he was wondering how he was going to explain it to her. "It means...I'm thinking positively about things...do you know what that means?"

"Good thoughts?" Jessie asked.

"That's right," said Mr. Wagner, he tapped her nose with his fingers playfully.

"That's_ stupid_ though," said Jessie, quite firmly.

He seemed somewhat impressed by her reaction, "what makes you say that?" he asked curiously, he let his arms rest upon his bent knees.

"Because _good thoughts_ can't make things better. _Good thoughts_ don't fix broken bones. I've _thought_ good thoughts...and Mr. LeBeau was nearly dead...so they don't do anything..."

"Sure they do."

"No...you're just telling me that so I won't be sad. But it doesn't _work._"

He gave something of a half smile, "you're very smart for a seven year old, did anyone ever tell you that."

"Sometimes," Jessie shrugged, "but maybe they're just lying again. Or trying to be _opitioamamismic..._"

"_Optimistic,_" he corrected. "And trust me...they're not..." he assured. "When you grow up, you're going to be a very smart lady, you know."

"I wish I was grown up now...then people would stop babying me," Jessie sighed.

"What's wrong with being babied," he queried.

"No one tells me anything; they just lie and make up things they don't know. They treat me like I _don't_ understand things."

"Jessie..." Mr. Wagner took both her hands and squeezed them again, "You should enjoy being a kid while you are a kid," said Mr. Wagner, he moved her hair back from her shoulders, "you won't be one for long – you're wasting the best years of your life on worries that are not yours to bear."

"I can't help it..." Jessie admitted.

"Try not to grow up too fast," he advised. "You have a lot of fun times ahead of you. Now...lets go for some hot chocolate."


	6. Chapter 6: Reminds me of You

Chapter Six: Reminds Me of You

Rogue stared into the lab from the observation room; she hadn't been able to sleep so she'd gotten out of bed and come back down. If this was the closest she could be to Remy – at least for now – it would need to be enough for now. It was the only thing that would still the worried skip in her heartbeat.

On the plasma screen on the wall, she could see Remy's x-ray and there were improvements. Bones were knitting clearly now, and she began to feel slightly more at ease just being able to track the progress. She sighed and sat upon the floor, resting her back against the wall, to her left she could see through the glass and look down at the chamber; she could see Hank McCoy checking readouts from all the monitors in the lab and his calm professional manner told her things were fine...for now.

"You didn't sleep."

Rogue raised her head as Kurt Wagner stepped into the observation room; he was in his human holographic form and it almost come as a shock since she hadn't seen it for so long. She sighed and moved her hair out of her face. "I couldn't."

"You will make yourself very ill," he said, he came over to sit beside her, he let his forearms rest against his knees.

"Where's Jessie?"

"Sleeping," Kurt replied, "I think I exhausted her. I took her to the movie, for hot chocolate, then let her run riot in the fun factory. She'll sleep for a while."

"I need to get her back to Bayville," Rogue sighed, "It's a long flight, and she has school on Monday morning."

"She's at a human school now?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah. Mathers Academy."

"Private school – bah. The kids coming out of that place were always so snooty."

"I don't think Jessie has it in her to end up like them," Rogue confessed, she toyed with a lock of her hair, she picked at her split ends absently.

Kurt paused, then said, "she has changed so much since she first came to the mansion..."

"Yeah," said Rogue, she glanced up into space, "she's...really something."

"Highly intelligent, I would say," Kurt admitted, "she catches on fast..."

"Yeah."

"She has...so many burdens...for such a little one," Kurt sighed, "it makes me very sad to be around her. She has that look in those big eyes of hers – like the weight of the world has always been upon her shoulders. Want to hear something funny?"

Rogue sighed, "go for it."

"She reminds me...very much...of you."

"Of me?" Rogue turned to look at him, her eyes fixed on his.

"Her loneliness, struggling to connect to other people – wishing she were older. It reminds me of a girl back in Bayville who wore black clothes, heavy makeup and who kept everyone at arms length."

"Jessie doesn't keep people at arms length anymore," Rogue remarked; it had been the way initially, Jessie had been very shy to participate with anyone, but these days she was speaking more and more to everyone – including her. She hadn't thought about it much until now, but it had gone to show how much seven months had changed that little girl.

"No. She keeps people close...afraid they will leave her."

"She's had a hard life, Kurt. Dead parents...orphanages...these powers, which she is way too young to really understand....living in a mansion with people who don't really get it..."

"Like I said...she is very much like you."

"That isn't a good thing, Kurt. It isn't good at all."

"His condition is improving dramatically," Moira MacTaggart remarked, as she stared at the monitor near the head of the chamber, "Already several of the bones that were re-broken have nearly mended back together...it would have taken months to see this kind of healing..."

"It's astounding what this machine can do," Hank McCoy nodded, he was sitting at a computer going through Moira's research, astounded by some of the things she had discovered and in so short a time period.

Moira gave a wan smile, "it's astounding what it can do _now,_" she remarked. "I can't believe I missed that one small thing...that tiny piece of DNA. I'm so ashamed."

"It was easy to miss, Moira. It was almost as if it had been hidden there...which is...startling...and...what's more...it raises so many questions."

"Such as?"

Hank sighed, "Moira...did you use Jessie's DNA on the clones in your research."

"Of course I didn't – nor did any of my colleagues," Moira said, she folded her arms and seemed quite offended by the accusation.

"And there's no way it could have accidentally just gotten into one of the clones while you were testing the RGT chamber out?"

"Absolutely not," Moira confirmed.

Hank gave a soft "Hmmm," and began to load up various files on the three monitors on the long table, he examined each one carefully, zooming in on each one to get a better look. "Baffling."

"What is?" asked Moira.

"These files...are these different test subjects. I mean...clone1, clone2, and clone3 are all different clones, not the same clone under various different states of treatment?"

"They're all different test subjects," Moira said, moving over and taking a seat beside him. "Why?"

"They all have that one small molecule of Jessie's DNA...see? Here," he pointed out with the eraser end of his pencil, "and here, and here..."

"Very unusual," said Moira.

"Hasn't it occurred to you yet?" Hank raised a thick eyebrow.

"Hmm?"

Hank shook his head in disbelief at the monitors, "it's...confounding...I can't quite figure it out..." he admitted.

"What are you talking about?"

_ "Think about it Moira. Why do all these clones that specifically have Jessie Crowell's __DNA?"_

The End – Or is it??? Mwahahahahahahah!!!

(I'm really getting on a roll now with putting these out but it may be a while before I get 18 and 19 out since I'm still in the midsts of finishing 19. Thanks to everyone who's being reviewing. Ishandahalf, Rogue4787 and Lil' Queen – I adore your reviews, you always have such brilliant thoughts and theories! )


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